General Frappart is General de Gaulle – you recognized him in the voice boiling with anger of Léo Ferré. “They voted, and then after” – it is the disarray of a good part of the French left in the legislative elections of 1967, when the right saves its majority.
May 68 comes next, with the demonstrations in which millions of French people chant the slogan “Ten years is enough”. This reminds us that, behind the immense figure of the savior of France’s honor in 1940 and the leader of the Resistance, there is a president.
Admittedly, he is the founder of the Fifth Republic, but he is also, before universal suffrage, a politician like the others. And the song may not be kind to him.
In the second episode of These songs that make the news aired this weekend, you hear excerpts from:
Leo Ferre, They voted (live), 1969
Suzanne Gabriello, Countryside1965
Joel Favreau, The quarter-hour rainbow2005
Henry Tisot, Self-circulation1961
Jack Gautier, Did you hit the trifecta? 1959
The Wampas, Surfin’ Colombey1988
Michele Torr, France, your romanticism is getting out of hand1986
Michel Sardo, When I’m old1979
Arthur H. General de Gaulle in the fifth dimension1992
You can also follow the news of this column on Twitter.
Remember: during the summer of 2019, La Playlist de Françoise Hardy was a crossing of the musical baggage of an author, composer and performer considered as the arbiter of the elegance of pop in France.
In July and August 2017, we spent A Summer in Souchon, during which Alain Souchon guided us on a tasty walk through a lifetime of love for song.
All summer 2016, in the company of Vincent Delerm, we wandered around in La Playlist Amoureuse de la Chanson, truant exploration of popular heritage. You can also extend the delicacies of this summer chronicle with the French song lovers dictionary, co-published by Plon and franceinfo.